In medicine, a catheter is a tube that can be inserted into a body cavity, duct, or vessel. Catheters thereby allow drainage, injection of fluids, or access by surgical instruments. The process of inserting a catheter is catheterization. In most uses, a catheter is a thin, flexible tube (“soft” catheter), though in some uses, it is a larger, solid (“hard”) catheter. A catheter left inside the body, either temporarily or permanently, may be referred to as an indwelling catheter. A permanently inserted catheter may be referred to as a permcath.
The ancient Syrians created catheters from reeds. “Katheter-” originally referred to an instrument that was inserted such as a plug. The word “katheter” in turn came from “kathiemai-” meaning “to sit”. The ancient Greeks inserted a hollow metal tube through the urethra into the bladder to empty it and the tube came to be known as a “katheter”.
Prior catheters were used only for single functions, such as removing human remains and enlarging an area inside the human body. The single functioning catheters require that medical personnel remove one catheter and insert another catheter into the patient when multiple functions are required to be performed on the patient. This removal and insertion process creates much discomfort to the patient, because the removal of one catheter and insertion of another catheter creates pain. Also, when multiple catheters need to be inserted into a patient, each catheter is inserted into the patient. However, the catheter's excessive length can cause confusion and the medical personnel may perform a function on the wrong catheter.
Thus, the need exists to have a catheter that can provide multiple functions and which is less traumatic than current procedures involving insertion and removal. The present invention meets that need without the risk of causing damage or producing pain.